Project, Health & Linkage Officer

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Project, Health & Linkage Officer

Location: Abuja
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Purpose

• As the Project Officer, Health & Linkage, you are responsible for supporting all health, linkage and nutrition activities within AMAC, FCT.
• In addition to the specific duties outlined below, you will be responsible for providing technical support and supervision to the health team; contributing to reporting and data collection; initiating, leading, monitoring visits to supported facilities; and providing technical input, writing and budgetary input for new program design.

Key Responsibilities
Health:

• Implement Facility Lite intervention and document all services.
• Ensure all CALHIV aged 10 years and above, whose HIV status has been disclosed, attend Operation Triple Zero (OTZ) and adolescent support group meetings.
• Deliver Health Education during enrolment, assessment, and caregivers forums.
• Enrol and develop care plans for all HIGH-RISK CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENT and their households.
• Refer malnourished CALHIV to health facilities for appropriate nutrition services.
• Provide specialized psychosocial support services to address adherence barriers, stigma, and mental health concerns.
• Conduct daily visits to CALHIV to observe ARV intake and address adherence challenges.
• Monitor adherence to clinical appointments, including VL sample collection and Enhanced
• Ensure assigned CALHIV visit health facilities for ARV refills, using escort services/accompaniment support when necessary.
• Profile CALHIV under their care and develop individualized service plans.
• Refer CALHIV and their caregivers to mental health services when needed.
• Support CALHIV and their positive caregivers in adopting positive living practices to enhance their wellbeing
• Adherence Counselling (EAC).
• Promote positive living strategies to enable CALHIV to live long and healthy lives.
• Conduct regular nutritional assessments of CALHIV.

Nutrition:

• Establish Infant & Young Child Feeding (IYCF) support groups in the community
• Conduct nutrition monitoring assessment bi-annually for all 0-Syr HIGH-RISK CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENT COMMUNITY SERVICE with proper documentation and ensure referral for malnourished HIGH-RISK CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENT.
• Carry out Water, sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) service delivery at point of assessment, enrolment and during caregiver’s forum.
• Identify and utilize existing child-focused health and nutrition programs (e.g., childhood immunization, PMTCT, treatment, nutrition, malaria, TB, adolescent, child survival programs etc.) and link beneficiaries who may need these services to ensure access to and uptake of services that these programs provide.
• Refer children to existing nutrition support programs in the community.
• Make necessary referral (food banks) as the need arises.
• Offer Food security training during caregiver’s forum.
• Reduce access barriers to health and nutrition services via nutrition education.

Linkage:

• Ensure the effective implementation of Positive Health Dignity and Prevention (PHDP) concepts at the community level.
• Ensure the implementation of strategic HIV referral/linkage protocols art the designated health facilities.
• Ensure effective follow-up by working closely with the project team to facilitate follow up visits for HIV clients through home visits, phone call and text messages and adequately track process outcomes.
• Facilitate access to HIV screening and testing for HIGH-RISK CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENT and their households.
• Contribute to capacity building for HCWs with respect to referral and linkage process.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned.
• Ensure effective data management and supervise the process of appropriate data collection at the facility and community using appropriate data tools.
• Provide HIV service referral during enrolment and assessment.
• Contribute to the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of HIV referrals and linkage process at health facilities and community.
• Facilitate the implementation of community adherence monitoring.
• Provide linkage to treatment facilities and effective bi-directional referral system and follow up at facility and community levels.
• Conduct follow-up calls to clients.
• Identify and address gaps in bilateral referral system.
• Document HIV testing and/or linkage/access to clinical services in the HIGH-RISK CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENT /Household folders
• Provide support to identified HIV clients on linkage processes, including assessment and mitigation of possible barriers to linkage.
• Design realistic innovative interventions for ensuring successful sustainable referral cycles including application of technology and basic communication tools.
• Ensure synergy of all linkage processes & track outcomes to and from health facilities and communities.
• Facilitate same day linkage to HIV treatment services for identified CALHIV.
• Facilitate assisted referral for newly identified HIV clients between community and facility systems and ensure client retention within the health facilities.
• Work closely with Health Care workers to ensure patients are carried along the scale of care and retention.

Required Core Skills

• Good report-writing skills.
• Good interpersonal and team working skills.
• Exceptional skills in capacity-building and training
• Highly developed computer skills with strong familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel are mandatory.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required.
• Excellent communication skills, written and oral and ability to relate sensitively to diverse groups.
• Flexibility in working in diverse situations with unpredictable working hours.
• Ability to multi-task and work under pressure with tight timelines